1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates in general to equipment used to capture and restrain objects found in the water, and in particular, to a mechanical netting device for the capture and restraint of objects found in the water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many individuals must capture and/or restrain objects found in the water for work and/or play. Sport-fishing from a boat is one example. As opposed to commercial fishing practices that typically use very large nets or long lines to capture many fish at once, sport-fishing refers to an angler who seeks to capture and/or kill an individual fish for primarily recreational purposes.
When sport-fishing from a boat, the process of bringing a fish into the boat, or “landing” a fish, has traditionally been accomplished using three primary methods, each of which may be performed either by the angler who is playing the fish or by a companion of the angler.
The first traditional method is to physically grab the fish, either by the tail or by the mouth, using the hand or some type of pliers, and lift it inside the boat. If done by hand, this technique works well only for small fish that lack sharp teeth. If done by the angler, it requires the angler to grasp the fishing rod with one hand while using the other to handle the fish. Furthermore, fish are often played to complete exhaustion before the angler or the angler's companion attempts to land the fish, which decreases the chances of fish survival if the fish must be released for reasons such as being too small, too large, wrong species, etc. Fish that are allowed to be killed under the applicable fishing regulations are often referred to as “legal.”
The second traditional method is to gaff the fish. The hook of the gaff is used to pierce the fish and lift it into the boat. If done by the angler, it requires the angler to grasp the fishing rod with one hand while using the other to handle the gaff. Obviously, gaffing should be employed only with legal fish. Ascertaining whether a fish is legal must be accomplished before the fish is gaffed, and this is sometimes difficult, especially when closely related species of fish are present in the water, e.g., there may be up to five species of salmon present in the waters off Alaska.
The third traditional method, and by far the most popular, is to net the fish using a long-handled net when the fish is close to the boat. If done by the angler, it requires the angler to grasp the fishing rod with one hand while using the other to handle the net.
In addition to the disadvantages described above, the traditional methods are becoming more inconvenient in the face of increasingly popular catch-and-release regulations that are designed to be protective of the fish. Catch-and-release regulations govern the handling of fish that are caught purely for sport, with the intent that the fish will be released back to the water.
Fish are harmed by the traditional methods of landing them in numerous ways. For example, it has been shown that lifting fish, especially larger ones, from the buoyancy provided by the water can be traumatic to the fish's internal organs. It has been shown that traditional fish net made of nylon filaments or hemp filaments can be damaging to fins and gills. It has been shown that handling fish with dry hands can damage the fish's protective slime coating, which is a barrier to infection.
In order to minimize harm to fish, some catch-and-release regulations require that the fish be played and released without ever leaving the water. For anglers who use the traditional methods of landing fish described above, this poses increased difficulty. For example, gaffing a fish is entirely incompatible with catch-and-release regulations. Grabbing a fish is still possible, but now the fish must remain in the water while the angler attempts to release the hook. Netting the fish is probably easiest, but the angler must first net the fish, put down the rod, and release the fish, all while maintaining a grip on the net.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other disadvantages of the traditional methods described above as well as other methods not described.